Kaduna Community Sells 3,000 Bags Of Maize To Raise ₦40m Ransom

Elders of Gidan Waya community in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State have said they sold more than 3,000 bags of maize to raise the ₦40m ransom demanded by kidnappers, but 13 villagers abducted during an attack on the community have yet to regain their freedom weeks after the payment.

The Chairman of the Gidan Waya Elders Forum, Mallam Rabo Sambo, disclosed this while addressing journalists at a press conference in Kaduna on Monday.

Sambo said the attack occurred on November 11, 2025, when armed men stormed the community between 11 p.m. and midnight, a time most residents were already asleep.

According to him, the attackers fired sporadic gunshots and quickly surrounded the settlement, taking advantage of its enclosed nature to ambush residents.

“We heard gunshots, and before we knew what was happening, the bandits had surrounded the settlement. Our community is a closed settlement, so they easily ambushed us,” Sambo said.

He said four residents were killed during the attack, while five others sustained gunshot injuries and were later taken to the hospital for treatment.

The elder added that 13 villagers, comprising five men and eight women, were abducted by the assailants and taken to an unknown location.

“This is the first time we are experiencing something like this. We have always lived in peace here. There has never been any crisis among us,” he said.

Sambo noted that the attackers could not be identified as they wore masks throughout the operation.

He said the kidnappers contacted the community in January 2026 and demanded a ransom of ₦40m for the release of the abducted villagers.

“To raise the ransom, we sold over 3,000 bags of maize. When the trailers came to load the maize, everyone in the community was crying,” Sambo said.

He added that the money was immediately delivered to the kidnappers after it was raised in the hope that the victims would be released without delay.

“As soon as we got the money, it was taken straight to the kidnappers,” he said.

However, Sambo lamented that weeks after the ransom was paid, none of the abducted villagers had been released.

“It has been three weeks since they were taken. Even today, as I speak to you, none of them has returned,” he said.

The elders, he explained, decided to speak publicly because they were unsure whether the Kaduna State Government or the Lere Local Government Council had been fully briefed about the incident.

“We don’t know if His Excellency, Governor Uba Sani, is aware of what happened to us. That is why we are appealing through the media,” Sambo said.

While acknowledging the efforts of the Divisional Police Officer in Lere, who reportedly visited the community several times after the attack, Sambo appealed to the state and federal governments to intervene urgently to secure the release of the victims and provide food support, noting that residents were now facing hunger after selling their grain reserves to pay the ransom. ENDS.